Shortly before 14:00 (12:00 Greek time) in the center of Visby, which is currently hosting a gathering of the country’s political parties, a man attacked a woman with a sharp weapon, according to police. Expressen newspaper reported that the suspect was believed to have links to the neo-Nazi group NMR, but police did not confirm this. The victim was treated at the scene before being transported to a nearby hospital. “Unfortunately I can report that the woman succumbed to her injuries,” Fredrik Persson, Gotland’s police chief, told a news conference. Persson said a 33-year-old man was arrested nearby and shortly after the attack, and was currently suspected of murder. “An intensive investigation is currently underway. Part of that is to establish the motive and background of those arrested,” the police chief said. He added that there were a number of questions looking at it “as it happened in a very public place, where there were a lot of people in the center of Visby in the middle of the day”. Police would not comment on a motive, although Persson admitted that a political motive could not be ruled out at this early stage of the investigation. But police also said they did not believe the incident was connected to Almedalen Week, an annual event that brings together most of Sweden’s elite when political parties often present new policy and launch campaigns.
